Harmful Algal Blooms

Staff

HAB Research

HABs and marine biotoxins impact the whole marine food web and the human
endeavors associated with living marine resources. While HAB events can occur
in relatively small areas, many of them have origins in far off-shore oceanic
environments. Because of the scale of these events, we have chosen to focus
our current efforts on two marine biotoxins that have significant effects
in the west coast of North America: Domoic Acid and PSP. Since HABs and marine
toxin outbreaks are largely unpredictable with our current state of knowledge,
our research places a strong emphasis on developing fundamental understandings
of the mechanisms of toxin production and distribution into our coastal living
marine resources.

NWFSC HAB Research

Our approach to research on HABs and biotoxins recognizes four broad categories
of research. First, we need a fundamental understanding of what and how HAB
blooms are initiated and how the toxins are produced and move through the
food web. Second, we need simple, sensitive, and reliable detection and analytical
methods for the toxins and the specific HAB species that produce the toxins.
Third, in order to understand how marine biotoxins are taken up and retained
for long periods in many fish and shellfish, we need to conduct toxicology
studies to understand how these toxins are bound, eliminated, and whether
they have behavorial or other toxic effects. Fourth, we need to gather data
on past occurrences of HAB events to formulate information about potential
trends that might be correlated with other environmental conditions.

To read more about our HAB reseach, please use the navigation bar to
the right or click on the links below.

Research Partnerships

Clearly, the vastness and scope of these research areas require resources
beyond those available to any single institution. We recognized the need to
build strong partnerships with other interested groups and constituents in
the region to amplify our collective efforts. To this end we have formed strong,
strategic partnerships with state risk and resource managers, academic institutions,
industry, tribes, and public concern groups. Within the last five years we
have developed two significant partnerships: The Olympic Region Harmful Algal
Bloom (ORHAB) Partnership and the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal
Blooms-Pacific Northwest (ECOHAB-PNW).

To read more about our research partnerships, please use the navigation
bar to the right or click on the links below.